Documentary and panel of experts will address food insecurity and hunger relief solutions in honor of World Food Day

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One in four American children don’t know where their next meal is coming from. The paradox of malnutrition in the land of plenty is a part of daily life for 50 million Americans. What would it take to ensure that those who suffer from hunger have access to nutritional food? These issues will be addressed during a documentary screening and panel discussion at UVM this Wednesday, Oct. 16, in honor of World Food Day. The event starts with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Sugar Maple Ballroom at the Davis Center, followed by a film screening at 6 p.m. and a panel discussion at 7:30 p.m.

The film, A Place at the Table (2013), outlines the current state of hunger in America, including national trends and personal narratives to communicate the lived experience of hunger.

The film tells the story through the stories of three people suffering from food insecurity:

Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two children;

Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and

Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health problems are exacerbated by the largely-empty calories her hard-working mother can afford.

The film will be introduced by Will Raap, a long-time food systems leader in the Burlington area as founder of The Intervale Center, Restoring Our Watershed and Gardener’s Supply.

The event will also feature remarks by Roger Doiron, the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, a global organization committed to empowering people to grow food to support greater food self-reliance. On the national front, Roger led a successful campaign to replant a kitchen garden at the White House, which garnered more than 100,000 signatures and international media coverage.

After the film, a panel of local experts will discuss hunger releif efforts at the state and national level. The panel will feature Tyler Doggett, associate professor of philosophy at UVM, as well as individuals from local organizations that work on food security, including Rob Meehan of the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, Jess Hyman of the Vermont Community Garden Network, Faye Conte of Hunger Free Vermont, and Rita Markley of the Committee on Temporary Shelter.